In this article, we'll get to know some fun facts about popular sports in Japan. Some interesting and curious facts that you probably didn't know.
But just to be clear! Before jumping to conclusions, the article is not saying that this is always the case. They are just curiosities that can be changed with time, or that don't happen in all regions of Japan.
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Sumo wrestlers only eat twice a day
Sumo wrestlers they only eat twice a day! Once right after finishing your morning workout and then again in the evening after finishing your afternoon workout.
A typical meal includes the presence of chanko-nabe, containing large amounts of meat, fish and vegetables. Your meals are consumed in such a way that the calories absorbed with your meals always exceed the caloric value lost during training, thus maintaining the same body weight.
Sumo wrestlers don't wash their thongs
The mawashi (loincloths) that Sumo wrestlers wear are never washed. Instead, they are usually just laid out to dry, for two reasons. One of them is for luck and the other is because washing the mawashi weakens the tissue.
There is more than one type of juice
Sumo has always had a powerful hold in Japan since ancient times and there are many games that incorporate it. One of them is the game kamizumo (sumo paper), in which dolls of sumo fighters are modeled with paper... They are placed inside a circle made on the upper part of a cardboard box, after being in a suitable position for the “beginning of the combat”. that we hit around the circle until one of the fighters leaves the demarcated area.
The article is still halfway through, but we recommend also reading:
Victory poses are not allowed in Kendo
Kendo is a sport born in Japan and is considered of great importance. If a practitioner manages to earn a point on top of his opponent and then immediately strikes a celebratory pose, the point won by him will be withdrawn for behaving in a disrespectful and insensitive manner towards an opponent. And also so that practitioners do not lose concentration and intensity of spirit, something that is crucial in Kendo.
Olympic Games for athletes over 60 years old
Every year since 1988, athletes seniors aged over 60 in Japan, participate in a sport and culture event called “Nenrinpics”, so called by the combination of baby, or “the age rings of a tree,” with the word Olympian.
This four-day sports festival involves a variety of events including tennis, a marathon, Kendo (Japanese fencing), ping-pong, board games such as go and shogi (Japanese chess) and haiku (Japanese poetry). Each city hall in the country finds a way to host this event.
Professional baseball fans stay together during matches
The biggest difference from japanese professional baseball, consists of the way your viewers behave. Fans of each team unite as one, singing fight songs to the sound of trumpets and taiko (drums). They also release huge numbers of balloons into the air, cheering for their teams with endless enthusiasm.
High school baseball players take home the dirt
Summer in Japan is time for the national high school baseball championship known as “koshien, which pits nearly 4,000 high school baseball teams across the country against each other in a qualifying tournament to reach this sacred competition.
although the koshien introduce student athletes, all games are broadcast live across Japan. Those chosen to represent their cities, are left with heavy expectations and compete as if their lives depend on the result.
The players who lose this competition can often cry and put themselves on the ground regretting the result and many say "We'll be back!". This is done in an emotional tone that can make many spectators teary-eyed.
